§ 22. Mr. Willisasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will arrange for estimates to be made of the cost of bringing into operation of the Legal Aid and Solicitors (Scotland) Act, 1949.
§ Mr. N. MacphersonThe current Exchequer grant for legal aid in civil proceedings alone in Scotland is £155,000. We have not enough information on which to base a reliable estimate of the cost of the other services covered by the Act, but as regards legal aid in criminal cases, a Committee is now reviewing the relative provisions.
§ Mr. WillisAs this information is apparently to be made available in England and Wales, why cannot it be made available in Scotland?
§ Mr. MacphersonI have no information about the position in England and Wales, but our feeling is that in Scotland any such estimate regarding legal aid would be of the nature of an intelligent guess.